Improvement in wrenches



F. L. DELFER.

Wrenches.

No. 133,422. Patented N0 v.26,1872.

FRANK LEO DELFEB, 0F BURLINGTON, IOVA.

lMPROVEViENT IN WRENCHES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 133,422, dated November26, 1872.

To altwhom it may concern: v

Be it known that I, FRANK LEO DELFER, of Burlington, in the county ofDes Moines and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Wrenches 5 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing, in which- Figure lis a perspective view of mywrench. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same, showing one methodof producing the desired operation. Fig. 3 shows severalmodications ofthe form of the jaws. Fig. 4 shows different forms of nuts.

The object of 4the irst part of my invention is to facilitate the movingand setting of the movable jaw; and of the second part to enable thejaws to seize and hold a nut of irregular form, so that when removedfrom its screw it will still be securely held by said wrench, as will bemore fully described hereafter. The irst part of my invention consistsin the peculiar arrangement of a rack and an independent pawl, wherebythe movable jaw may be brought into adjustment, or very nearly so,without changing its parallelism with the stationary jaw, and anadjusting-screw of short range, whereby the movable jaw may be adjustedas to any range between the teeth of the rack.

That others may fully understand this part of my invention, I willparticularly describe it.

A is the stationaryhead or jaw,- and B is the movable jaw sliding uponthe bar C, to the lower end of which the handle D is fixed.

Along one side of the bar C a series of rack! teeth, c, is out, and apawl, E, set in the movable jaw B en gages with one of said rack-teethso as to prevent any backward movement of movable jaw from the placewhere set. The pawl E is jointed to a sliding bar, F, and therefore maybe moved, as Irespects the jaw B, in the line of bar C. The bar F may bemoved by a screw, G, which bears against the jaw B, or by some othersuitable device, such as a cam, wedge, or screw otherwise placed. Whenthe movable jaw is to be set, it is merely required to slide said jaw upto the objectto be operated upon, the stationary jaw being then incontact with the opposite side of said object. The rack-teeth c willenable the pawl E to hold said movable jaw very nearly up to the saidpoint of contact, and, if it is .required that said jaw should be heldactually in contact with the object interposed, then the screw G or itsequivalent device may be caused to move said pawl and sliding bar Funtil the desired adjustment is obtained. When said jaw B is to bereleased from contact, or a new adjustment obtained, the pawl E iswithdrawn from the rack-teeth by any proper means 5 the movable jaw maythen slide freely backward. A spring, e, may be employed to keep thepawl in engagement with the rack-teeth. By this means the movable jawmay be adjusted with all the facility of a rack-a-nd-pawl movement, andwithall the accuracy or firmness of a screw-adjustment.

The second part of my invention consists of jaws having peculiar forms,for the purpose of enabling them to grasp a nut whose face is broader orlarger in lateral dimensions toward its front than toward its rear ormiddle portion, so that said jaws may reach over and grasp said nut byits smaller part, whereby it may be securely held and retained betweenthe jaws of the wrench without the exercise of much pressure.

Nuts may be made in various ways so as to present the requisite facilityof attachment with this wrench. Some of the various forms are shown inFig. 4, and in the drawing are" represented several methods offashioning the jaws of the wrench to accommodate the various shapes ofthe nuts. It is considered, however, that the form shown at b,vbeingthemost common, will be the form best adapted to mypurpose.l I willtherefore only describe the j aws necessary to secure the desired resultwith a nut of that character, without designing to confine myself tothose forms so long as the grand object is attainedi. e., the retentionof the nut between the jaws without pressure. The angular recesses g aremade in the jaws -to receive the corner of any nut which may beinterposed between them. When the corners ofsaid nut are seated withinsaid recesses they cannot be withdrawn, even if no material pressure isexerted by the screw'G.

For farmers and other persons unskilled in the use of tools, theslipping of the nut from the jaws is often a source of great annoyance,and, in addition, the nuts, especially of wagonaxles, are soiled withgrease and unpleasant to handle. With my wrench the nut may be removedand retained between the jaws until it is replaced upon its screw.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new is 1. In combinationwith the movable jaw B of a wrench and the rack and pawl c E, thes1iding bar F and screw G, for the purpose set forth. 4

2. A wrench having the following devices in combination, viz., astationary jaw, A, fixed to a rack-bar, G, a movable jaw, B, fitted toslide upon said rack-bar without changing its parallelism with thestation ary jaw A, a catch or pawl, E, independent of the movement ofthejaw B, and a screw, G, to move said pawl 1ongitudinally in the neck ofsaid jaw B, Whereby the jaw B may move toward or away from the jaw A atal1 times parallel thereto, and be held bythe pawl E near to the desiredpoint, and then moved to the required adjustment by means of the screwG, all as set forth.

3. A movable jaw-wrench having jawsprovided with ribs, projections, ornotches, substantially as described, whereby a suitably formed nut maybe grasped and held by said jaws without great pressure, as set forth.

F. L. DELFER.

Witnesses:

R. D. 0. SMITH, GEO. BARTLE.

